Floor, ceiling, and roof construction



Feb. 23 1926.

W. MOILROY FLOOR, CEILING, AND ROOF CONSTRUCTION 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 13,

@Montego Feufza 192s.

W. MCILROY FLOOR, CEILING, AND ROOF CONSTRUCTION Filed Dec. 15,` 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 I Feb. 23,1926;

' FLOOR, CEILING, AND ROOF GONSTRUCI"ION Filed Dec. 1:5,4 192,3 3 sheets-sheet s I numltoz Patented Feb. 23, i925.

"e i .We t iii VIILLAIVI MCILROY, OF SEEING-FIELD, '0I-I" iO, ..SSEiiNOEL OF TiO-FIFTHS T0 DANIEL JIALONEY, 0F EFRINGFIELD, UHIO.

FLOOR, CEILING, AND TEL-00F GONSTRTJCTION.

Application led December To all fui/rom t 'may concern.'

Be it known that I, VILLIAM Moliner, a citizenV ot' the United States, residing at Springfield, in the county of Clark and State ofV Ohio, have invented certain new and usetul Improvements in Floor, Ceiling, and Roof Contruction, ot which the followA ing is a specification.

My invention relates to floor, ceiling' and roof construction, it particularly relating to a construction ot this kind termed ot rows ot' precast blocks with spaces between the rows into which is poured concrete.

One of the objects ot my invention is to employ blocks of such a nature as lto cause a union between the blocks and the concrete beams or girders to constitute in effect a monolithic structure; a more specitic object in this connection being to employ blocks formed of cement and some other substances which will render the blocks highly porous so that when the concrete forming the beams is poured the same will penetrate into the porous blocks and thereby unite the blocks to the beams and cause the blocks and beams to become in ellect a single structure.

A further object of the invention is to provide precast blocks in a structure of the character described, which will have the quality of receiving retaining fastening devices, such as nails, so that floor and rooting material as well as certain forms of ceiling may be nailed or otherwise secured directly to the structure if desired.

A further object of the invention is to provide a structure of this character in which the construction will be simplified and cheapened and in which the supporting` forms will be of a more simple character, and also in which the construction can be proceeded with under the most severe and unfavorable weather conditions.

A further object of the invention is to provide a structure which will be ot the maximum fireproof and sound proof character, an aid to acoustics, a good non-conductor of heat and cold, and of light character compared to other structures of this kind.

A further object of my invention is to provide a structure in which the pouringot a concrete licor may be conveniently discontinued at points in the width or length of the floor.

A further object of the invention is to Serial No. 658,372.

)rovide a structure having a continuous ceiling of porous character to prevent condensation of vapor laden air.

Referring to the drawings:

F l a transverse section of' a licor construction embodying the improvements.

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing' a modilication in the form of' the beams.

F ig. 3 is also a similar view showing a further modification in the form of the beams.

Fig. #l is a vert-ical section of two of the blocks showing the manner of interlocking the saine at the ends.

5 is a longitudinal section of a floor construction showing a modilication in the iorin of the beams and also showing the t'orni used during the process of construction.

Fig. (5 a cross-section of a portion of a floor construction showing a slight modification in the form of the blocks and the method of tilling the space between the rows of blocks when more than one row ol blocks is employed between the beams.

Fig. 7 is a plan otl the construction shown in lli 5.

8 is a plan view of a floor construction such as shown in Figs. l, 2 and 5.

Fig. 9 is a cross-section showing a slight modilication.

Fig. l0 is a erspective view of the iloor const-ructon showing the manner of applying a wooden licor thereto.

Fig. ll is a cross-section of a lloor construction showing a modification in the form oi" the blocks and also in the form oi the beams,- this ligure also showing one manner of applying' a wooden floor and ceiling to the structure.

Fig. l2 is a cross-section of a form of ceiling` construction.

Referring to the drawings, l represents precast blocks of a highly porous character. rlhc high porosity is secured by a mixture of cement, preferably Portland cement, and a lilling material ot highly porous character. A satisfactory block possessing such a characteristic may be made ol Portland cement and cinders, but good results may be also secured with other substances such as blocks termed ot cement and granulated slag, cement and scoria, or cement and pumice. rlhis porous character is due to the cellular structure ot the block and in the cases of' l lg.

slag and cinder block, where the block has substantially 21/4 sq. in. of surface it has been found that these bloei/1s are capable of conducting substantially 10 pints of water through and away from the block VTin 15 minutes and as compared with terra cotta tile and gypsum they have 50 times the conductivity of said last mentioned materials. The blocks are preferably formed hollow for lightness and also when placed end to end of forming conduits 2 to receive electrical cables or conduits, gas or water pipes or other fixtures which may be found desirable to install and conceal from view. In Figs. 1, 2, 3, 5 and 1() inclusive the blocks are shown formed with round openings while in Figs. 6 and 9 they are shown with oval-shaped openings, yand in Figs. 11 and 12 with substantially square openings.

In erecting the structure a form such as shown in Fig. 5 is employed consisting of suitable supports 8 and i upon which are laid strips so spaced as to support the side edges of the precast concrete'blocks 1 and to close the lower end of the space between the rows of blocks. The blocks are placed in rows upon the supporting strips 5 and concrete of any usual mixture, such as Portland cement, sand and gravel or crushed stone, is poured into the spaces between the rows of blocks toform beams G. Each of the blocks has its sides preferably formed with rounded depressions or groove 7 into which the concrete flows to provide an interlock and the ends of the blocks may also be provided with grooves 8 and tongues 9 so that the blocks interlock in the manner shown in Fig. 4t, but the ends of the block may be left perfectly plain if desired.

'In Fig. 1 the beams are shown as tei'- minating at a point removed fiom the top of the floor structure so as to provide conduits 10 while in Fig. 2 the lower ends of the beams are shown as terminating at a point removed from the lower surface of the structure to provide conduits 11. rllhese latter conduits may be formed by placing upon the strips 5 a suitable form inembei not shown) vbefore the beams are poured. In the other figures the beams or girders are shown as occupying the entire space between the blocks from top to bottom. The conduits 10 and 1 1 when employed furnish a convenient place for pipes or conduits which are readily accessible for repairs. Before pouring the beams suitable metallic reinforces '12 of any usual character are inserted, an L beam being'shown inFig. 12 and rods in the other figures. In Figs. 3 and G are shown structures in which two or more rows of blocks are placed between the beams with a comparatively narrow space between the rows of vblocks which may be filled with concrete as indicated at 18.

Roofing material or the flooring, where wooden flooring is employed, may be applied tothe structure in various ways but in all the methods employed the characteristic of the blocks 1 in receiving and retaining nails or other similar fastening devices is utilized. ln Figs. 1 and 10 the furring 14 is shown nailed to the blocks 1 and the boards 15 forming the floor nailed to the furring. 1n Fig. 2 there is shown a cement Hoor 16 poured upon the floor structure.

ln Fig. 11 before the beams are poured wooden spacing strips 17 are nailed upon the blocks 1 and after the beams proper are poured the cement is also poured between these spacing strips so as to provide a cement flooring 18. A wooden tloor is then placed in position by nailing the furring 19 to the strips 17 and the boards 2O forming the floor proper nailed to the furring.

yThe plastering indicated at 21 forming the ceiling is applied to the lower surface of the structure either directly or by first nailing metal lathing to the blocks, which is thepreferable way of doing with the structure such as shown in Fig. 2 where spaces or conduits 11 are left in the lower portion of the structure, the-lathing being placed, however, across the channels only.

In Fig. 12 is shown a construction in Awhich the ceiling will be constructed entirely of highly porous material. ln this view, 1 represents the blocks and 6 the concrete beams. Before setting the blocks and pouring the beams, strips or blocks 22 formed of material similar to the blocks 1 are placed upon the form strips 5 and temporarily secured thereto in any suitable way. rllhese strips 22 act as spacers for the blocks 1 and also act as supports for the reinforcing members 12. The blocks 22 are left in position so as to make a continuous ceiling surface of the highly porous material, the advantages of which are pointed out later.

A structure as described presents many advantages over piior structures of the kind.

@ne of the advantages is that the complete structure is in effect monolithic for the reason that in the use of precast blocks of a porous character such as described, the wet concrete forming the beams will penetrate into the material of the blocks and thereby firmly imite with the same. Furthermore it is well known that to avoid the dili'iculty of having a mix that is too stitl1 to be workable the maximum strength of the concrete can seldom be obtained in genh eral construction work, whereas with this improved structure there can be used initially an excess amount of water, which within a Short time such as 15 minutes, will be conducted away from the beam and it has been demonstrated that 'this rapid conductivity of the excess amount of water will/insure the concrete having the maximum strength or in other words will prevent the beam ibeing weakened bythepresence` of an excess amount of moisture. In'this connection it should be explained that it is usualto add `more water to-the mixture than necessary "for maximum Vstrength and that a body of concrete in a form shaped like a frustrum of a'cone,"fou1inches in diameter at the top, eight inches at the bottom and twelve inches high, which contains substantially ten percent more water than that required for maximum strength, will have a slump of three to four inches when the form is removed. Twenty-five percent more water will give a slump of six to seven inches andy fifty percent more water a slump of eight to ten inches.

A further advantage of the use of these porous concrete blocks is that they possess the quality of receiving and retaining` nails, screws or other similar fastening devices which permits the application directly thereto of wooden fiooring, prepared ceiling such as metal ceiling, and various kinds of shingles, slate and other forms of roofing. Light fixtures, hangers for line shafting and other things of that character may be also readily secured to the blocks.

Other advantages are the ease of construction as the arrangement allows for the use of forms of a more simple character than heretofore employed resulting in a saving of material and also enabling the stops for the concrete beams to be nailed directly to the blocks l. Another advantage is thel ability to work under severe and unfavorableweather conditions because of the fact that the form protects the beams, and the blocks constructed as described, being poor conductors, protect the sides of the beams from frost. Planks placed over the top of the beams furnish the necessary protection at that point. Another advantage is that it is unnecessary to set any blocks of wood for nailing purposes or to set any sleeves for the passage of pipes or conduits.

Another property possessed by these blocks not found in hollow7 tiling is that the blocks may be readily chipped or cut which enables them to be tted in irregular places where partial blocks are required and also permits the roofing or door construction to be opened up to furnish access to conduits 0r pipes when desired.

Another advantage of the construction is that the rod reinforcements may be secured l to the porous blocks by utilizing the nailing qualities of the blocks before pouring the concrete beams which will prevent displacement of the reinforcement when tamping in the concrete of the beams and permits the use of certain kinds of reinforcements which produce stronger beams which are not now extensively used because of difficulty in holding the same in position during the pouring of the beams.

Anadvantage of the construction shown in Fig. ll is that the days work can be conveniently discontinued because of the fact that the strips 17 act as separators for the `floor sections 1S which permitstheipouring ty of being excellent noirconductors of heat so that the temperature of the under surface of the ceiling does not fall below that of the interior of the room, thus preventing condensation of the vapor on the surface of the ceiling, and the porous character of the blocks also allows diffusion of air through the blocks or passage of vapor laden air therethrough which tends toward evaporation of moisture from the surface of the blocks rather than condensation on the surface of the blocks.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

l. In a structure of the character described, the combination of precast blocks and a concrete filling formed between said blocks containing an excess amount of water., the blocks being substantially rigid but of such cellular character as to be capable of conducting from the concrete filling and through the block any excess amount of water at a rate such that in the predetermined time required for the concrete to set sufficient excess water will be removed from the concrete to improve the strength and character of the beam.

2. In a structure 0f the character described, the combination of precast blocks and a concrete filling formed between said blocks, the co crete filling being of greater fluidity than the ordinary four inch slump and the blocks being of very openly cellular formation as compared with tile and gypsum, same being capable of conducting water away from the concrete filling at a rate from ten to thirty times as fast as tile or more and in quantity five to ten times as great as tile or gypsum or more whereby the excess amount of water will be conducted away from the concrete during the time that will elapse before the concrete filling can set.

In a structure of the character described, the combination with two or more rows of precast blocks of very open cellular structure as compared with tile and gypsum and also having the capacity to receive nails and similar fastening devices, concrete filling poured between said blocks, the concrete filling being of greater fluidity than a four inch slump, and the blocks by reason 01"' said open cellular structure being capable of oondncting ve to ten times or more as much Water from the concrete llng as tile and gypsum are capable of doing n the given time Within which the' concrete filling will set and harden whereby the Water flows in such manner as to cause the lling and blocks to be bonded together 1n annnproved WILLIAM MCILRoY. 

